Failing A Friend
by typhoonboom08
Summary: Kaz guiltily reflects on the mental decline of his best friend and the fact that he hadn't even noticed it happening


**Disclaimer:** Don't own nothing.

Basically, I came up with this idea because if you're going to destroy a character's personality that badly, at least make a plot out of it. It could actually be a really good one.

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Normally, Kaz would be rocking this game. Mario Kart was easily his best game, meaning the one he could take on and actually beat Oliver at. He wasted a simply ridiculous amount of time learning how to time the speedy starts and properly aim flying banana peels for that exact reason. It was, by far, the most time and effort he'd put into anything that wasn't a plan to get out of something else in his entire life.

And yet, here he was, running off just about every edge and into every wall, trap and cactus. He just couldn't focus, his mind kept wandering. Or more accurately, shifting back and forth from deep-seated worry to kicking himself. It only got worse as Oliver came down the stairs. The guy barely even noticed Kaz was there. He was too busy staring down at his phone, Skylar's comments about her weird toes coming from the speakers. He was probably watching a video of Skylar clipping her nails. Again.

"Aww, look at her toes. Even her horribly mismatched feet are adorable." Kaz wasn't sure whether to feel creeped out and shiver at that or angrier at himself. He ended up going with both, not that Oliver even noticed. He was too caught up in the cause of Kaz's concern and guilt: his hyper obsession and resulting, highly creepy tendencies. Something that Kaz had failed to notice for far too long.

Oliver had always been a weird guy, no one could deny that. He counted weight in trading cards and the dream he was most proud of having was of Kaz as a sunflower! He was a bit obsessed with Skylar and could get jealously territorial if another guy flirted with her. He could get a little creepy with it too, mindlessly throwing out random comments or compliments, not to mention that file of photo shopped pictures of the two of them, but it was mostly low key, private and innocent. He was a boy with his first crush and went a little overboard with it. But it was nothing like this.

Although, another difficulty with discovering the situation was the fact that Oliver's true personality did shine through amongst the crazy, especially early on and after Skylar started dating him. He'd be sensitive to everyone's feelings, call Kaz out on his bragging, obnoxious claims and laziness and geek out about a prank or a new comic book. He was still there and that was the one thing that brought some hope and reassurance to Kaz now, but that was almost annihilated when Oliver had gotten so bad that he made a forty hour video of Skylar brushing her teeth and clipping her toe nails of all things! That level of obsession was creepier and more intense than the worst stalker stories Kaz had ever heard! The fact that imaginary Skylar had appeared and the level of commitment Oliver had to her was another out of character disaster. Looking back, Kaz was mortified by just how much he'd failed to notice. It was so easy to see, he'd only have needed to take a second from admiring his new life to pay attention to the guy who always stood beside him and it would have been as obvious as a cannonball to the face. He was a horrible best friend.

Kaz didn't blame the others for not noticing. Chase and Bree only met him once before he got his powers, they didn't have time to see much of his true personality. Skylar was in a much better position to see it, but as said before, Oliver could always come out with some random thing to say or do about her or stare with those dreamy looks. Not only that, but this situation had been a subtle process, slowly growing from what was already there. Combine that with getting her powers back, getting to know the Davenports better and everything else that's been going on since Roman and Riker destroyed Mighty Med, it was possible that she just didn't realise that his creepy, obsessive moments were increasing in frequency and intensity. He was kicking himself really hard though. His best friend needed help and he hadn't even noticed. He should have noticed, well before now.

To be fair, he did have similar reasons, at first at least, as Skylar for failing to see it. It was one thing after the other for the poor guy, his mother turned out to be the villain trying to kill him, died in front of him and came back to life only to continue to try and take over the world as the most powerful villain in it. Then, while he's being forced to track down and stop his own mother, Mighty Med is destroyed and countless friends die at the hands of shapeshifters bent on revenge on not only the superhero world in general, but on him and Kaz specifically for taking their father's powers. That was a lot of grief and trauma in a very short period of time, there was no doubt that Oliver would be a bit off and it wasn't like Kaz was doing much better. Not one to suppress his emotions, everyone could see how badly Kaz was affected. Honestly, he didn't even question why Oliver was so calm and in control. In reality, that should have been his first warning something was wrong. While he'd have said and done the same things, he should have been an emotional, nervous wreck. He was always easy enough to bring to tears and panic.

Looking back, Kaz could find the real warning signs revealing themselves the day Skylar got her powers back. There were a few comments beforehand, like losing focus in battle and declaring he was kind of ok with being crushed because he was pressed into Skylar, but it was definitely that day that Kaz should have realised something was up. To be specific, the moment he noticed the pig.

Oliver had focused on the porker and practically cooed at it, not even noticing that there was a stranger aiming a huge gun at him. There were two things wrong with that, the first being that the old Oliver would have complained about such a messy, disgusting being in their living space. He wasn't much of a pet lover and was a germaphobe! The second thing was that he wasn't the type to lose focus in the middle of a deadly situation like that.

That second point was important, because it showed up frequently after that. It became increasingly more common for him to get distracted from the task at hand or be content when there was serious danger. Like when the bridge collapsed and instead of taking charge like he used to and coming up with a plan, he was more focused on Skylar's beauty and the idea of being the one trapped with her in the rubble instead of Chase. This is the guy who kept the Mighty Med trio focused, would come up with most of their plans and do everything to keep everyone, especially Kaz and Skylar, alive and safe. Fantasies were quick to come after danger, but never during.

His aggression towards Chase was another strong warning. Yeah, Oliver got jealous and a bit scathing when it seemed someone was coming between him and Skylar and Chase kind of did that by being the one to restore her powers, but he wasn't making any moves on her, never once showed any signs of wanting to. The Oliver Kaz knew would have of course gotten upset and bitter by that, by being shown up and failing to fulfill his promise himself and earn Skylar's appreciation and affections, but he would have gotten over it within a week and tried something else to get her attention. Well, it would still be a sore spot, but an internal one, something he'd mope about feeling sorry or angry at himself. His hostility towards Chase was far too volatile and long lasting. He knew Chase was genuinely trying to help him and her. After all, how often does Chase 'the smartest man in the world', offer to give up bragging rights to any intellectual achievement?

Even day to day activities showed hints of it. Like their topple the tower game. Yes, Oliver would always enjoy that challenge, but he should have told Kaz off for using and breaking all of the Penthouse's cups and appliances and had him use less fragile objects. The hot dogs on the rake is another major example that Kaz really should have noticed. There's no way in Hell that the old germaphobe Oliver would ever put something so unhygienic near his mouth. But Kaz had been too happy to be able to do it to care. A third was when he was willing to burn or freeze AJ to death for knowing their secret. Oliver's a very kind person, he'd do everything in his power to fix the situation in a way that AJ would come completely unharmed, not eliminate him like Horus would.

Then there was the fact that not only was he open to touching the Arcturion again, it was his idea! It was something Kaz himself would suggest and the old Oliver would tear him a new one for even considering! It was deadly dangerous and the longer the stupid space rock was in the open, the more likely it was to draw a swarm of villains right to their balcony. They didn't even need more powers, Oliver had only just got control of the ones he had and was more than happy with them. And unlike Kaz, while he loved having them, he never once went looking for ways to get powers for himself even when they were Normos! Why would he now?

Speaking of that infinity ball, Kaz was sure that it was to blame. Something was wrong with Oliver's head and the Arcturion was responsible. He couldn't prove it, after all, he was still fine, but the arrival of their powers marked the time the smallest changes could be noticed and it wasn't like anyone involved in that incident was affected the same way. Other than flight, all three of them mutated and developed different powers, who says that a mental consequence wasn't possible? But he had no way of proving it, much less fixing it.

_I'll just have to find a way._ That was all there was to it, he decided as he shut his console down, watching sadly as Oliver muttered about how pretty Skylar's smell was under his breath. He'd talk to Chase and Douglas. He'd search his mementos for any Mighty Med equipment that could help find the problem. He'd track down another superhero hospital if he had to!

He had to find an answer. He had to save the guy he cared about more than anyone else in the world. And fast. Who knew how badly he'll deteriorate if it's allowed to go on much longer? He'd wasted far too much time already.

His whole life, he'd wanted to be a hero and when he became one, he failed to pay attention to the person he cared about most. He had to save him and make that up to him, whatever it took.

He'd even give up his powers if that's what it'd take to save Oliver's sanity. That was his promise.


End file.
